Of course getting internet access was a keen interest for me as I arrived in Kathmandu at the beginning of our adventure in Nepal. I was already typing up daily reports on Richard’s laptop computer and I wanted to make sure I would be able to upload the text to the SherpaTrek.com website. Staying at the Amari hotel in Bangkok was worry-free with the open wireless connection in the downstairs lounge. Scurrying through Thamel was another story though. True, there are lots of internet stations tucked between souvenir and money trader shops and they’re really cheap (1 Rupee per minute), but the connections were really slow. Of course I couldn’t complain about any of that either because the prices, the access and the connections speeds got much less luxurious as I hike up into the Khumbu. Actually I can never complain about net access again after hiking the hills around Namche for quick stops at the Everest Cyber Cafe.

I asked Shovon here recently about his experience getting online while he was in Kathmandu. He spent the summer there and needed good net access to do his work. He claims that there are some nice network shops set up and that the younger generation spends a lot of time chatting and talking Voice Over IP with friends. I didn’t witness it myself since I was only in the touristy areas, but I imagined it was a little bit like my experience in South Korea in 1999. I got good use out of the ubiquitous internet access in Seoul and was amazed at how well the business of PC Rooms was doing. It seemed that on every block in the shopping areas there was at least one or two of the businesses set up and they were often packed with youngsters chatting and fragging away on action-packed strategy games (the popular game at the time was Starcraft). That was over 6 years ago, so I can hardly imagine how wired Seoul is now. I doubt that Kathmandu is that well networked or that there are any Nepali gamers who are national heroes like in Korea. I’m sure that the youth of both societies will converge onto the same online culture, the land without borders.